Crazy Girl
by Kbernier
Summary: Sookie is a telepathic teenager in Maine, living with her grandparents and uncle. While at summer camp, she meets the love of her young life. Watch them navigate through distance, love, and semi fame. OOC. AH/AU. Many characters against type. S/E, P/SM, G/F. Eric and Alcide are twins!
1. Chapter 1: She's More

Chapter one:

I groan as I get into my car. Two of the most annoying guys in my class are walking up to me. This is the last day of our junior year and I have been able to avoid them all day.

I am just a plain girl, who made the mistake of showing some interest in one of the guys who graduated this year. That was years ago now, but they have made me regret it ever since. I also have a rather large secret; I am telepathic. Only my grandmother knows about that. I have always been able to read minds. I didn't find out the name of the condition until I was looking for a book in the library one day and came across a supernatural encyclopedia.

I just want to go home and start packing for the week ahead. I am going to confirmation camp with some kids from church.

"Hi Sookie, I haven't seen you all day. Where have you been hiding your hot self?" Jason leans against my hood. His crony, Hoyt stands at my window. _'You are so stupid; you don't even know that we are laughing behind your back.' _Jason thinks. Hoyt's mind was lost in a fantasy of us in bed. The boy has been infatuated with me, since I started developing. He is just a coward, hiding behind Jason for years.

"Let me think, Jason. Oh yeah, you had your tongue down Crystal's throat most of the day. So, seeing as you were extremely busy doing that, I just stayed out of your way. See you in the fall." I roll up my window and start my car.

When I get home, I have another battle on my hands. My uncle, Dermot has decided that he does not like me going to camp. Too bad, I'll be gone before he even gets home tomorrow night. I am staying at my aunt's and we are leaving after church on Sunday for Zion.

I don't really care what the week entails; I can handle any religious stuff, if it means a week away from my family. It's not like I'll see most of these people again.

"We will be there in ten minutes. You can pick out your bed and unpack before we meet up with the rest of our group." My pastor tells me and the other girl that was traveling with us. The rest of our confirmation group was riding in the three other cars driven by the other chaperones.

We were going to a church camp in rural New Hampshire for a week, where we are going to meet up with two other groups from Pastor's home state of Rhode Island.

We unload our stuff and find out that we will be staying in the converted barn. I end up sharing a bunk room with four other girls. Three of which, are from R.I. I end up bonding with one girl, named Pam. We discuss life back in our respected hometowns, and then we walk out of the barn to investigate the campground.

We end up sitting down on log benches by the lake, when a group of kids walk up to us. They all look like they are our age. Three of the guys are good looking, especially the tall boy, named Eric. His hair is short in the back on longer on top. His eyes are ocean blue and he has a slim build but I could see through his tee that he has some muscle definition, similar to a swimmer's. I am not the only one drooling. Pam is making eyes at one of his friends. I don't even know why I look anymore, I never have a chance. The good looking ones are always taken. One of those girls has to be his girlfriend; a couple of them are mooning all over him. Turns out they are part of the other group that was with us. _'I think I am in love. Who is that? I hope I can convince her to get to know me.'_ One of the guys thinks. I am not focusing, so I don't know who.

They begin asking me to say certain things, apparently my accent is funny. They ask if they can walk us back to the barn. I shoo Pam to go with them. "I'm going to sit on the beach for a while." I walk down toward the sand and sit, looking at the water. As the sun sets, I realize that I still have the short denim vest on, when I shiver a little.

"Here you go." A deep voice says softly. I look over; I didn't realize that someone was with me. Eric is sitting next to me, looking at the lake also. He had draped his sweatshirt over my shoulders. When I stand and stretch, he gets up too.

"I could not leave you out here alone. You looked like you were sad about something." He moves a strand of my hair away from my face.

"Many things, but that is neither here or there. Thanks for waiting for me. I would have spoken to you if I had known someone was with me." I smile at him as we walk back through the woods.

A couple days later, during a break, we are all relaxing at the beach. I am reclining on my towel, when Eric, his twin brother Alcide and their friend Sam come by. Sam parks himself on my towel, after asking permission. Eric sits on Pam's and Alcide asks to sit on Amanda's. Eric keeps staring over at me. I turn down my Walkman, so I can hear the conversation without making it obvious. They are just talking about inane topics, so I go back to my radio.

Sam turns to me, taps me on the leg and asks to talk to me alone. I stand and walk after him. I have a sneaking suspicion that this is going down a familiar road. We walk down the path a ways, before Sam starts to speak.

"Look Sook, I rather not do this for him but," He starts. I raise my eyebrow. Just what I thought, these people don't know me from Adam, so I feel better about sticking up for myself.

"Sam, I swear if you are going to try and pull something over me by telling me that someone "Likes me" you can just stop now. I've heard enough over the years. I didn't come here to meet someone, but if it happens then fine, if that person has the guts to talk to me themselves. That being, if someone does like me at all. I fully understand that I am plain. There is no need to rub it in. I thought that you were a nice man; I am saddened to find out the reverse. Now please excuse me, I'm going to gather my stuff, change and maybe find some place to read until dinner." I cut him off. I turn around and stalk off to gather my stuff.

'_She thinks she is plain? If I was not so attracted to Pam, I would go for her in a second. Hasn't she seen all the guys here just watching her every chance they get and drooling? Eric is head over heels for her and I might have just messed it up for him. Damn! He's going to kill me.'_

Everyone turns to see my grab my towel and Walkman and march off in a huff, muttering about people who can't leave well enough alone. Sam tries to apologize to me when I pass him; I glare at him and stomp by as the tears well up in my eyes.

Pam catches up to me, when I need to stop for traffic. The tears are coming down now. "What the hell was that about, Sook? Wait… are you crying? What did that jerk say to you? I'm going to kill him." _'I was going to give him my number, but not now. He hurt my best friend. Poor Sookie, she doesn't need a shithead picking on her.'_

I thank her for being a good friend. "It's just that shit happens to me all the time at home. The guys all pretend to like me and then they make me look like a fool for believing them. I get that I am not the prettiest girl out there, but I have found no one that wants to be with me. I've only had one boyfriend and that lasted all of three months, he didn't even kiss me." I crash back against our bunk.

She looks at me incredulously. "That does it! We are giving you a make-over for the dance. Then maybe you will see what others see. You are one of the prettiest girls at this camp." Pam cries out and jumps off the top. We use the rest of our free moments practicing dances and trying on a whole bunch of clothes. Amanda and the two of us pass clothes around the room.

Once we get our outfits planned out. Pam moves on to playing with my hair. "You have such great hair Sook; I'm having so much fun curling it." She squeals. When Pam has gotten done, my blonde hair is a mass of corkscrew curls; I have shadow enhancing my blue/grey eyes; my lips are painted a soft shining pink. I look different.

I look at my watch, the dance starts after Vespers. I am not changing into my dance clothes until then. So we head to Vespers. I can feel the stares and hear the whispers behind me.

"Pam, what are they muttering about?"

"That my dear would be you. No one recognizes you. Pam strikes again. Look out here comes Sam."

"Hi Pam, where's Sookie? It's our group's turn to serve. Her pastor wants her to serve the common cup. Plus, Eric's looking for her." I nod my head but don't say anything. Pam had told me to make him sweat. I walk away before he can ask my name. I sit on the bench/pew with Amanda and Arlene.

Pastor sees me and I nod when she mouths to me about the cup. When the time comes, I walk up and serve the wine. I notice that Sam and Eric join my line. I say my line to every person, a small smile on my lips.

At the end of the service, after the benediction, Pam and I beat feet back to the barn to change clothes and do our makeup.


	2. Chapter 2: You Had Me at Hello

Chapter two:

We make it to the dance a little after they open it for the night. Eric is waiting outside with Alcide, when we walk up to the door. For some reason, Eric's face lights up when we walk toward them. 'There's my girl. She is even more beautiful than she was this afternoon.' I look behind me, there are a few more people coming behind me, but no one that I have seen around him.

"Trying to get some air from those swarming fans, Eric?" Pam asks snidely. 'I'm not letting you jerks hurt her anymore. She deserves someone that will treat her right.'

"No, waiting for my date." He replies, smiling at me. I wait until we get inside before letting my face fall.

"Don't let'm get you down, honey. I know you liked him and thought that he was different, we just need to wait and see." We dance with our friends for a couple songs and I start to feel better. Pam leads me to the side and sits with me until JB comes and asks her to dance. She looks back at me to make sure I am ok. I push her away. She seems to be having a good time with him. I can see Sam on the other side of the room, glaring at JB.

Someone falls into her chair a few minutes later. When I glance over, it's Eric. He looks at me dejectedly. "Your date didn't show?" I ask him.

"Oh she did, she just walked by with her friend. Why did you do that?" He actually sounds sad.

I am so astonished that I glance away. He must be kidding! I look again and he still has the sad puppy dog face. "I didn't know we had one. Sam kind of pissed me off. Is that what he was going to ask? "

"I usually ask someone myself, but Alcide convinced me to have Sam ask you. That's the last time; I listen to my idiot twin. Do you want to dance?" He mutters, as he stands up and holds out his hand.

I nod and join him on the dance floor. They start to play Kenny Chesney's "You had Me from Hello". His hands land on my hips; I circle my arms around his neck.

"What are you doing the rest of the summer?" I try making chitchat, while we dance.

"Alcide and I are moving to a little town out-side of Memphis. We will start our senior year out there. You?"

"I am going to stay at my dad's and watch my brother and sister while he works." I tell him.

He pulls me closer and wraps his arms around my waist. When I lay my head on his collarbone, he presses a kiss to my head. I look up at him again and smile. _'I can't believe that she is in my arms. I hope she says yes to being with me. I know that the distance is a challenge, but I have the money to fly up and see her occasionally.'_

The song ends and is replaced by an annoying rap song about being a "ball'er" or something.

"Hey, why don't we go outside and find a patch of sand to talk?" He suggests and holds out his hand to me.

We walk along the beach until we can't hear the music anymore. "OK, you've got me out here, what's up?"

"I just wanted to spend some time with you, alone. What do you think about being together?" He asks sheepishly, rubbing his hand along his neck. He's cute when he's nervous. _'Please say yes. I will do anything to be with you. Please!'_

"I think it's doable, if you are sure. Even without you moving, it's a distance." I agreed. It's not like I have any other prospects. Well if I showed a little interest in Hoyt, he might come around, but I don't want to put up with Jason.

I start looking for the cameras or the group to laugh at me, before Eric scoops me into his arms. "I've never been more sure about something in my life!" He spins me around and plants one on me. "I'm so happy, baby. It feels good to say that, I've been thinking it all week long." _'She's mine! I can't believe it. If I thought she would be receptive, I would marry her right now.'_

Okay, where did that one come from?

We walk back to the dance hand in hand. Pam walks up to me and gapes. "Well, now I know where you went." She takes a deep breath.

We share another slow dance, and walk back to the barn. Us girls pack and get ready for bed. Everyone is getting up early for breakfast and a group picture, before we all go home. Eric lures me off to say goodbye properly. I trade addresses and cell numbers with him and Pam.

On the way home, Pastor teases me a little about Eric.


	3. Chapter 3: We Danced

Chapter three:

The summer flies by. My father, brother and sister think it's funny to see me get worked up over each letter from Eric. I just can't believe that he is for real. I develop my pictures and go shopping for my school supplies. I land a part time job at the book store at the mall and other than tending to my car, gas and insurance, I save my pay checks.

When I get in the building, on the first day of school, my tormentors are waiting for me.

"We missed you, Sookie. What did you do this summer?" A couple of the annoying guys call as I walk by with my friends. I ignore them and walk off, which as usual makes them more pugnacious.

A month later, they finally wear me down. The fact that I have a boyfriend slips out while I'm trying to tell them off. It wasn't that I was trying to keep it a secret, my friends knew. Of course, these idiots can't leave me alone.

"So when can we meet him? We need to make sure that he's good enough for our girl." Jason and Hoyt tell me one day, in the hall. _'Yeah, I can't wait to crush him. She has never had a boyfriend before.'_ Hoyt thinks, slightly depressed about the whole thing. It's a wonder that he actually was interested enough.

"Maybe someday, he lives in Tennessee. I'll mention it when we talk tonight." I walk into my class, groaning. Then, I think about their faces when he does show up one of these days.

For two months, I show the pictures off. The letters, I keep to myself, because there's some sensitive stuff in there.

Eric calls in early October, he can come to the masquerade dance, the weekend of Halloween. He asks me what I am planning to wear. I haven't thought about it. "As long as you don't dress me up as Edward Cullen, I don't care what I am. Hey what about getting Alice and the Mad Hatter costumes or Jean Grey and Cyclops."

"Really, you just want to be able to wear your sunglasses all night. We could go Greek on their butts. Hey, you would make a good Viking." That's not a bad idea, Eric done up in a Spartan uniform, or animal skin. That's enough for a few fantasies. I need to get my mind out of the gutter. I think for a bit.

"You know what, I like the Alice bit. I'm glad I'm blonde."

We agree on the costumes being from the newer movie and make arrangements for the dance. He will be staying at one of the local hotels. He offers to rent our costumes, but I tell him I'll get mine. I end up finding a Alice costume in Spencer's. It's a sexy Alice, but I like it.

When the night comes, I get a little gruff from my uncle and grandfather about my costume. I admit it's a little revealing, but I can't help that I have a fairly large bust. I'm finally winning them over when there is a knock at our door. I open it and introduce Eric to them and my grandmother. I am sure his appearance was confusing to them.

"OK guys, I'm Alice from "Alice in Wonderland" and he's the Mad Hatter. It's a costume dance." His costume was great. It almost looked like Johnny Depp's from the movie. We get out the door and walk to his rental car.

"You look great honey, very sexy!" He growls in my ear as he opens my door. 'How am I going to keep my hands off of her all night, with her wearing that? Just not seeing her for this long has made me want to drool; now she is wearing the sexiest Alice costume ever.' I am happy that he is still attracted to me.

We drive to the school and talk about how nice it is to be with each other again. We arrive in no time. The doors are not open yet. He parks and puts in some contacts to make his eyes all crazy. Now, it really does look like Depp's.

"Do you want to get out now or do you want to stay here for a few minutes more darling?" He asks with a slight drawl at the end. I shiver a little at the sound of the twang. It is a little funny hearing the cowboy come out of the Mad Hatter. _'I vote for steaming up the windows and never going in.'_ He thinks. I almost smirk at the thought, it has merit. I kiss his cheek.

"As much as I want to keep you to myself, let's go get our groove on." I move to get out.

"Oh, no you don't. You know that I open your doors." Eric bites out, as he jumps out and runs around the car to open my door and give me a hand out. He locks the doors and we walk up to the que, hand in hand.

They open the doors soon after and we pour into the gym. The whole place is decorated with twinkle lights and gauze drapery. I hand our tickets to the person collecting them.

We sit down at a table and start chatting with a few people. Of course, we don't know who they were with the costumes; I hope they aren't people I can't stand in real life.

Eric leans over to me, "So Alice, would you like to dance with your "mad" date." He wags his shaggy fake eyebrows.

"Sure." He smiles at me and holds up his finger for me to wait a minute. He runs up to the dj and walks back with a crazy grin on his face. He pulls me up and we walk to the empty dance floor. "Time of the Season" by the Zombies comes on. We dance a loose swing to the song while everyone stares. He grins all through.

"You know they are talking about us, right?" He whispers in my ear. "They have no idea who we are. It is kind of fun." He spins me around and kisses me when he pulls me back to him. "You want to give them a show?" He winks at me and I nod. I was expecting another kiss, but he twirls me around the floor to the music. "Gee, I feel like Ginger Rogers." I giggle into his frock coat._ 'I am glad she is having fun. I know the bull some of these people put her through. I never want this night to end, that way I would not have to let her go.'_

When the song ends, we go back to our seats. The table erupts in a round of applause. From some of the smiles, I can tell that we are sitting with my friends. I breathe a sigh of relief at the knowledge.

"They are my friends." I tell him, as we sit back down at the table. He lets out a breath, "Good," he leans over and kisses me. "Are you going to introduce me to them?" I nod and proceed to do so.

We are getting into a group discussion about subjects that we need to graduate in June, when some others walk up. Just by the tension around the table, I can tell that I was in for a hard time.

"Sookie, who's the "Hatter"?" Jason asks, rudely.

"If you must know, I am her boyfriend. The name's Eric Northman." Eric stands and holds out his hand to shake with Jason, who he towers over. When Jason clasps his hand, Eric squeezes hard.

"Nice to finally meet you, Sook has told me about all of you. Now will you excuse us, I want to spend some time with her and my new friends. I don't get to see her as often as I would like." When he sits down again, he pulls me into his lap and kisses me. Jason and his cronies leave.

"I can see what you mean about them, plain and simple bullies. I'd love to see what Pam would do to them, not to mention what the guys would do."

"Guys?" My friend Claudine asks.

"Yeah, my twin Alcide and our friend Sam, they are about as protective of my little Sook as I am. Pam too, she would love to pulverize those idiots." We both laugh at the mental picture of Pam tearing into the jerks at my school.

The rest of the dance flies by. He takes the contacts out; it's nice to see his blue eyes again. Eric drives me home, grabs something from the backseat and walks me to the door.

"I'll talk to you in a couple of nights, OK. Then there's the letters. I love you baby. Have a good night." He leans down for a kiss. _'God, I am going to miss holding you in my arms.'_ I lean against the wall and pull him to me, by the lapels. Our mouths fuse for a few minutes. "I want you to have this; it's my spare home jersey. Both of us made the team. When you said that your rival school was royal blue and white, I could not resist." Eric snickers as I look at the jersey. The number is low that means that he is on the offensive side. **A/N: It has been a while since I payed attention, but I think that the low numbers are offensive. I am sorry if I have it wrong. My dad would be so disappointed. :(**

"Eric, what position do you play? It's offensive, I can tell by the number." My handsome boyfriend grins at me. "My love, you are dating every high school girl's dream, the quarterback. Our team is not that good, but they have heart. We've won a couple of games more since we joined the team." He pecks me on the cheek. "This is why I won't be able to call as often as I want. The season will end in a couple weeks and I plan to try something else." He winks and opens the door. "I love you."

I wear the jersey to school the next day, over my white turtleneck. The shocked looks that I get make me smile. My friends are about to call sacrilege before I turn around, showing the name on the back. They laugh at the coincidence. The football team is about to go against our rivals that Friday. My arm is caught by Hoyt. I look around for Jason, he is nowhere to be seen.

"What is this? Why are you wearing one of their jerseys? How did you get it? If you wanted to date a football player, you could have…" He cuts off there as I remove my arm from his grasp.

"Let me guess. If I wanted to date a football player, I could have dated you? Hoyt, this isn't a jersey from them, it is from my boyfriend, Eric. He thought that it was a good joke that his school colors were the same. He is playing for the season and then moving on to something that he wants to focus more energy on. The team was something his brother wanted to do. So they made a deal, they would play football for the season and then they would start making money competing on the circuit. He could care less, about the game.

Now let's discuss this thing about you. You have never shown any interest in me other than to insult my intelligence and try to lead me on. When I finally show interest in someone, you start to come around, seeking me out to talk and pay attention to me. Yet, you still do it in secret, still have a girlfriend that seems to think that you are devoted to her. I will never be party to someone cheating on his girlfriend. Hell, if anyone ever dared to do it to me, they would be gone. Because of the games that have been played on me, I have little to no trust in the opposite sex, Eric is helping me work on that." I walk away to my class. I am glared at for most of the day, but I smirk and go about my merry way.

We talk and write over the next month and a half. I start a Christmas Club to save for presents. I have decided what to get my family; it is easy to shop for them but not for Eric's. I send out Christmas cards right after Thanksgiving.


	4. Chapter 4: Must Be Doing Something Right

Chapter four:

In his Christmas card, there is a present, round trip tickets to Tennessee, for the Holiday break. So after getting out of school on December 18th, and passing out my family's gifts, I pack to for the South.

In the morning, I clean out the rest of my Christmas club and deposit it into my savings. I double check that I have my debit card in my wallet and that in my purse. My uncle drives me to the airport. _'Why does she have to grow up? Mom is getting old. If Sookie stayed, she could do all of the stuff that Mom does.' _I am glad to be away from that mentality for a while.

My flight is uneventful; I took out my book after twenty minutes and read for most of the flight. We land well after dark in Memphis. I could see the lights from both Graceland and Beale St. as we were descending. My fellow passengers are all concerned with what they are going to do. Quite a few plans on visiting both of the attractions while here.

I walk down the ramp to see Eric pacing the floor. He is unbelievably good looking in his boots and hat. I love me a cowboy. _'Come on Eric, she will be here. You are just psyching yourself up. She will show. _He thinks as he paces.

Over the last few letters, he told me about getting interested in the whole culture out here. When he turns for another pass, he finally sees me. A huge grin breaks out on his face. I run into his arms. _'Yes! She is here.'_

"I have missed this. It feels so good to have you in my arms again." He picks me up and spins us around in a circle. I hug his neck. When he finally lets me down, I grab his hat. It was a real 40x Stetson. My mouth drops open. I give it back immediately. That hat costs at least $150 dollars alone. He had told me that he bought a couple hats. I look down next, sure enough, real Tony Lamas.

"OK, what gives Eric?" I ask him.

"What baby?" He threads his fingers through my hair. It feels good, but does not distract me like he wants it to.

"Your hat and boots would take someone our age two or three years to save for. What are you doing for a job?"_ 'Shit! Why do you have to be so observant? Mum said that she would pick up on the hat and the boots. Please don't ask what I am doing for the money. I just want to earn as much as I can, that way I can give you whatever your little heart desires.'_

"Oh, you know, breaking some horses, a couple of gigs with my brother, and I have started riding."

"Riding, as in rodeo riding?" I groan. "Eric, please tell me you are being safe." I beg him. _'Thank you God. She is letting me off easy. All of the money from the prizes and endorsements, minus the entrance fees and travel expenses has gone into a special account for us.'_

"Yes, I am. I know I will probably get hurt at some point but, I try to be safe. Thank you honey for being concerned for me. Now let's get your bags and go home." He kisses my head and places his hat on it.

After getting my luggage, we head out to his truck, I mean Truck! He drives a huge white dually Dodge pick-up. He laughs as he boosts me into the cab.

The drive to his house only takes about twenty minutes and goes by fast as we catch up with each other. When we round the corner to the ranch that his parents own, I start to get nervous. Eric pats my knee, seeing my lower lip disappear into my mouth.

"They'll love you as much as I do. You already won over Alcide." I roll my eyes at this.

"There's that smile." He gets out and opens my door. With his help, I get out of the truck. Alcide comes rushing out and heaves me over his shoulder and runs back into the house, with Eric walking in behind with my bags, laughing.

Their parents, Mr. and Mrs. Northman, though they tell me to call them Godric and Freyda, laugh along with us. When we calm down they welcome me to their house. It's pretty late by the time we settle down.

"If you two promise nothing will happen, Sookie, you can stay in Eric's room." We promise and Eric leads me to his room. The boys have a floor of the house to themselves. Alcide has one side and Eric, the other. In between of their rooms, are a couple of guest rooms. When he opens the door, I gasp. Aside from a closet and a couple of drawers, the room is dominated by a king sized bed. Between the closet and bathroom is a little sitting area, with a couch, desk and a couple of chairs.

"Here we are, you can have the bathroom first." He tells me, motioning through the other side of his room. "Which bag do you need?" He asks before setting them down next to the bed, scratching his head. I grab my toiletry bag and dig through my suitcase for my pajama pants and shirt.

I clutch my chest when I open the bathroom door. It was like something out of "Profiles of the Rich and Famous". A marble Jacuzzi that looks like it could house a small third world country dominates the bathroom; the marble is in the extra-large stall shower also. Along one side of the room is a two person vanity, one side has his toothbrush and comb next to the toothpaste, deodorant and cologne. The floor is tile with radiant heating under it. I expect to hear Robin Leach's voice at any time while I am showering and pulling on my clothes. By the time I open the door again, I have gotten used to the idea of my boyfriend's family being wealthy.

"It's your turn."

Eric walks by and closes the door. I sit down on the bed and brush my hair. I can hear Eric whistling in the shower. I start when someone knocks on the door. Eric's mother opens the door and comes to sit with me.

"It's nice to finally meet the girl who's stolen Eric's heart. I just wanted to tell you that we already consider you part of the family." Mrs. Northman then hugs me and says goodnight. She locks the door on her way out. _'She is so pretty. Eric told me that he fell the moment he saw her, but I thought he was joking. I know better now. I hope we can be friends.'_

"So Alcide can't play any tricks in the middle of the night." She smiles indulgently. A few minutes after she leaves, Eric comes out of the bathroom.

"I threw on some pants and a shirt so you wouldn't feel pressured."

I thank him and tell him that he could've left the shirt off. His face darkens, "You don't want to see my chest, trust me." _'It's hideous. I wish I was as perfect as she is.'_

While we were at camp, one of the other girls in our group asked him about the lighter patches of skin on his chest. He had walked off. Alcide told us it was a skin condition that affected the pigmentation of a person's skin. Along the same lines of what Michael Jackson supposedly has. I guess he has been made fun of for it.

"Are you kidding me? I have already seen it, remember? I happen to like your chest, so off with it Mister." I shake my head at him when he hesitates some more. Grinning at him, I pull his shirt off and toss it on the floor. I then kiss my way up from his ribbed abdomen and defined pectorals to his lips. When I get to his face, he captures mine in his hands and stares into my eyes intently. _'You are the only one that I could ever want. You just proved that I was right in loving you.'_

"Do you know how much I love you?" His lips crashed down onto mine. My body instantly reacts to him. My arms wind themselves around his neck, my lips mold to his. His hands land on my hips and pull me toward him. He slides his arms around me and holds me tight, while his hands massage my back. My hands move into his hair. He licks my lower lip and I open my mouth. He slides his tongue in with a moan. We kiss for a while, before I need some air. We break apart, both panting. I look up at Eric and blush.

"Hey, you can't kiss me like that and then blush." He smiles at me and pulls me into a hug.

"Don't get me wrong, that was amazing. I think we should go to bed. How are we going to do this? Do you want the bed? I can take the couch."

I can tell he's nervous, now that we are actually getting ready for bed. I start giggling.

"What?"

"Eric, stop fretting. We'll figure this out. It's your bed; I'm not going to kick you out of it, let alone for almost two weeks." I glance over to the bed. "That is most likely the biggest bed I have ever seen. We could share it and still not be close to each other at all." I look between him and the bed again. "Come on, let's go to bed. I want to see the ranch tomorrow and help your mother." I yawn. I grab his hand and pull him towards the bed. "Just get into bed; I'm not going to bite."

"Are you sure? I don't want to rush you. I have to admit, the thought of holding you while we sleep is pretty promising." He reasoned out loud. I shake my head, lift the covers and climb in, he does the same on his side and he pulls me to the center of the bed.

"Yeah, I could do this for the rest of our lives and be perfectly content." _'Sookie is in my bed! In my arms, in my bed. Life can only get better a few more times, and they all include her and me in bed, not sleeping. I will wait for that. She and I are serious enough for it, but for now this is the life.'_ Eric thinks before he gets comfortable.

After kissing the top of my head, he turns off the lights and wraps his arms around me for the night. I lay my head on his shoulder and fall asleep to the sound of his breathing.

I wake in the morning, trapped under a mass of muscle. Somehow during the night, I must have shifted away and Eric followed me unconsciously. I am now on my left side and tucked against his chest, with his legs thrown over mine. This would not bother me other than the fact that I really need to use the bathroom.

Each time I try to disentangle myself, he pulls me even closer. It is time to take drastic measures. I reach down and lightly graze his lower abdomen; Eric jumps and slowly raises his eyelids. "Morning Baby, how'd you sleep?" He presses a kiss to my lips. _'What a way to wake up in the morning. A little lower please?'_ I scoff before answering his question.

"Great. Can you let me go for a few minutes?" He loosens his arms and I dash to the bathroom. A few moments later, I'm back and crawl into his embrace.

"So Sook, what do you want to do today?" He asks, pulling me on top of him. Many ideas passed through my mind, some innocent, some not so much.

"First off, I don't want to get in the way of any chores you may have. Secondly, I want to make sure there isn't anything I can do for your mother. I plan to pull some weight around here, while I'm here." I sit up and poke him in the chest with every point, but each time I do, something pokes right back. When I finally realize where I am and how I am positioned, I smile down at him mischievously.

"Hey, can I help it if there is a beautiful woman in my bed and I happen to find her very attractive?" He grins back at me, before rolling us over. "This is more like it." He grinds his hips towards me. His hands stroke down my sides and land at my hips; which he pulls into better alignment with his. The next time he rolls his hips, he hits me in just the right spot. I bite my lip so not to wake the whole house as I moan. I see an expression of wonderment on Eric's face, when I open my eyes again. "Did you almost have an orgasm from that?" He asks me. I nod and shyly smile up at him.

"Yes, I did. I'm serious about helping your mother." I trail my hand down his chest as I roll away and get out of bed. I hurriedly get dressed and run down the stairs to the kitchen.

Mrs. Northman was standing at the stove, still in her robe, frying some bacon. "Morning Freyda, what can I do to help?" I ask her.

"Morning, can you watch the bacon while I check on the croissants? After that I want you to sit down and enjoy breakfast with us. You're a guest here; you shouldn't have to do any work, other than schoolwork. "

"OK, but I am making dinner one night while I am here. I am not entertaining any arguments. It's the least I can do." I inform them. I then look down to eat a bite of egg, when I look up again; they are all staring at me. They are all thinking that they should be nice and nod along.

"What?"

"Sookie, you don't need to. We would love it, but you don't need to." Godric tells me, patting my hand. "Now boys, we need to go and feed the animals. Once we get that done and mend some fences, then we can relax. Sookie, we don't have as much to do in the winter." He finishes up.

"Yes dear, but I have a few things to do to decorate this large house. I might even have to buy more to get the job done. Do you want to come along Sookie?" Freyda asks me, as I take a sip of my milk.

"Yes, thank you."

"Mom, I'll meet you two at the mall after I get done. I need to finish my shopping, how about you Sook?" Eric asks me. "Actually, I do need to get a few more gifts."

"That ties it then. Sook, when you're done with Mom, we'll shop together. Please excuse me; I need to knock out some chores." He stands and kisses both his mother and I on the top of our heads, on his way out to the stalls.

Freyda and I get cracking on the decorating. Three hours later; we've hung garland, trimmed at least four trees, strung lights along the roofline and placed nutcrackers in every nook and cranny imaginable.

"Well it looks like we could do with some more lights and bows, huh Sook? Let's get to the mall." Freyda grabs her coat and keys. She ushers me out to a large black BMW SUV. The ride is short before we turn into an enormous parking lot. I whistle.

"That is bigger than all the malls in Maine combined. How do you not get lost?" I ask Freyda.

"I try to go to the side for the store I want." It made sense. "Don't worry; Eric knows where we are going." She smiles at me.

I push the cart as she starts throwing Christmas odds and ends in. I love the store, everything to deck the halls properly. We are loading the SUV when her cell goes off.

"OK honey, we will wait outside." She shuts her phone. "He just left. I'll wait with you."


	5. Chapter 5: The Man in Love With You

A/N: I don't own any of the characters, only the story. Though i wouldn't mind getting my hands onto Eric and Godric.

Chapter five:

Eric's truck swings around the corner in a few minutes. He pulls into a space next to his mother's "car".

"Bye Sook, this is my cue to leave. Have fun. See you tomorrow." She hugs me and pulls out. 'So that's what having a daughter feels like. I enjoyed that more than she will ever know. I hope that they will stay together, she fits right in with our family.'

Eric jumps out of the cab and walks up to me. "Hi baby, did you have fun with my mother?" When I nod, he picks me up and runs his nose up my neck._ 'Oh God, just the smell of you sets me off.'_ "Good. I'm glad, but it's my turn to spend time with you. Let's get this over with, so we can get some dinner and catch a movie."

"I thought we were having dinner at your house."

"Not tonight darling, you and I are having a proper date. I want to spend the rest of the day and night with you, alone." He hugs me to him. "I'm sorry but I'm greedy. Let's go and shop 'til you drop." Eric holds out his hand for me to take and we walk into the Mall. We walk the perimeter once and then I motion to go into Spencer's. This is the place to find gifts for Alcide. I buy him a couple of joke tees, a large bust of Michael Myers and a poster.

In Macy's, I buy Freyda a gorgeous cashmere sweater set and a Baccarat vase. I get Eric's father a new sheepskin lined barn coat. Eric excuses himself, when we go into a jewelry store. I end up finding a nice chocolate pearl set for Freyda's third gift. He comes back, looking satisfied with himself, bag in hand.

Earlier this morning, I called a place Freyda suggested and got Eric a new saddle. It will be dropped off on the 24th. Now, I need to find something else for him and his dad. I have an idea for Godric, a gift certificate to Tractor Supply.

We head into a movie store. Movies are one of my great pleasures; I can tell Eric is watching me closely. Every time I look at something and put it down, he picks it up. Like lighting it hits me, I'll get him some cds, and "Cowboy Way". I walk over to the comedies and pick up a copy. I then walk over to the music store next door and buy some Alabama, Chris Ledoux and Sawyer Brown cds.

Eric comes out of the movie store with a bag swinging from his wrist, as well as the ones in his hands. _'There she is. For a minute I thought she was a dream. How did I live this long without her?'_

"Give me those._ 'You shouldn't have to lug anything. As long as I am around you won't need to.'_ "We'll take these out to the truck and see about getting something to eat. There is a great place on the other end of the Mall." He shifts the bags and holds out his hand.

We are walking back from the truck when a couple of girls walk up to us. _'Oh God! Just what I need, that little brat coming onto me when I am out with Sookie.'_ "You're about to see that I have problems here too." He whispers in my ear.

A walking stick saunters up to us and lays on some supposed charm, mostly battling her lashes and flipping her long blonde hair. She should have put on more layers, who in their right mind decides to go to the mall in a micro mini and sleeveless shirt a few days before Christmas in Tennessee.

_'What! Eric never has a girl. I have had my sights on him for four months now. I know that Sophie wants him, but she wants anyone that is attractive or has money. Her standards are lower than mine. No one is going to horn in on my future boyfriend.'_

"Hey Ric, who is this, your cousin." The girl tries to physically wedge herself between us. When I don't let go of his hand she glares at me.

"Please, you don't have a chance with him, not when he could have me." I'm starting to feel like one of Godric's bulls.

"I don't know how many times I have told you this Debbie, MY NAME IS ERIC! This is my girlfriend. We've been together since this summer." He pulls on my hand. "Come on honey. We're going to be late for dinner." 'The nerve of that girl.' He thinks.

We walk away. When we are seated, he explains about "Debbie". "She is two years behind us. Ever since we started school, she's been after me. First, she starts calling me Ric, which I hate. Then she tells everyone that we are dating, as if just by saying it will make it true. She disgusts me. There is only one girl for me." _'Sookie told me that she has trust issues. This is not good. I just hope that she will see that I am telling the truth. If she leaves because of this or another of these skeletons, I will not be so kind to anyone anymore. I hope Sophie doesn't walk in right now. That would probably send Sookie home.'_ He thinks glumly.

He motions for me to get out. He slides to the inside of the booth, bringing his place setting with him. "Let's eat and get past this. I will not let that girl ruin our date." He drapes his arm around my shoulder while we look at our menus. We order and talk while we wait for our food. He can feel the stress in my shoulders, the way he is rubbing them tells me.

I'm starting to relax again, when Debbie finds us and sits down on the other side of the booth. Eric groans into my neck.

"What do you want this time, Debbie? We are trying to have dinner." He asks, rudely.

"You can stop now. I don't know nor do I care who she is. You don't need to try to make me jealous. Yes Eric, I'll go out with you." She tells us as she tries to reach for his hand. I can feel him tense up. Before he can speak again, I place my hand on his thigh.

"Debbie, is it? I think you should leave while you still have some dignity. I am Eric's girlfriend, I'm sorry. I know, I still can't believe it either, but he seems to really want to be with me. He is the best thing to happen to me, so I am not planning on letting this one go. Go find someone that wants to treat you like a queen. Now if you will excuse us, we are waiting for our food." Debbie leaves with her head hanging.

"You were too nice, darling, but thank you." Eric murmurs in my ear, and then drags his lips down my neck, causing me to shiver. "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for not making her leave me.'

Our food arrives, before we get too carried away. I ordered the petite fillet of steak, with mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli. Eric ordered the fisherman's platter, with cole slaw and onion rings. We both have milkshakes to go with our feasts. I actually finish it.

"That is one of the things I love about you. You eat normally. I think girls who eat only salads and leave half of their meals because they don't want to look hungry are gross." He beams at me._ 'She is perfect. I am lucky that she wants to be with me.'_

"I like food too much." I shrug. Eric pays. He would not let me even leave a tip. He wraps his arm around me.

"Do you want to see a movie or do something else? It's up to you. Your wish is my command, Baby." He stops me and pulls me into his embrace. "This is the best Christmas ever. I am so glad you are here with me. I love you so much." He lightly brushes my lips with his and hugs me. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"Loving me. I can be difficult to be around sometimes, but you bring out this whole new side of me."

"Do you know if there is a Tractor Supply around here?"

"Yes, of course. Is that what you want to do?" I nod. "I want to get your dad a gift certificate for Christmas."

"Well then, your chariot awaits, my dear." He helps me in and we drive to the farm store. He again helps me out and we stroll inside. He drifts off to look at some farm supplies. This is my chance. I walk up to the associate and ask to by a gift certificate.

"How much?"

"I need three $150 ones, and can I get gift boxes, thank you. Also, can I please get one of those hand tooled belts? I need a size 30." She rings me up. I go in search of my boyfriend and I find him in the livestock section.

"Did you find anything?" I ask him, looping my arms around his waist and hugging him from behind.

"Hey, I missed you, baby." He turns around and hugs me back. "Did you get what you needed?"

"Here, now I need to find a dollar store and a grocery store."

In no time we are walking around the dollar store. Eric pushes the cart, while I throw wrapping paper, tags, tape and wired ribbon in. In another aisle, I find some Body wash, and some shampoo. _'Hey, that's my soap.'_ I hear from an aisle away.

"Sook, I can't believe that I have never been in here. I always thought that it would just be junk. They actually have some stuff I pay a lot more for in the other stores." I chuckle. I walk up to him and whisper in his ear.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to pop your cherry, babe."

_'You can do that anytime you want my dear. I am ready when you are.'_

He grabs me and growls into my neck. "No, I don't mind. As long as I get to return the favor someday." I smile up at him.

"Let's go pay and do some grocery shopping. The sooner we get done, the sooner we can go back to bed." I nip at his earlobe, and turn to pay for my loot. Eric piles the bags into the bed and we head to the Kroger.

Again, he pushes as I toss the ingredients for supper, baking supplies, and the makings for mulled cider, into the cart. This time, when I go to dig out my debit card, Eric swipes his through and punches in his PIN.

"Hey!" I cry out.

"If you are serious about making dinner for us. Then I cannot in good conscious, let you pay for it also. Sorry, but that is the way it is." He loads the bags into the truck and we are on the way home.

"I know you don't believe this given how much I have done today, but I don't really like shopping that much, well aside from the grocery shopping." I lean my head back against the plushy headrest and close my eyes.

"I didn't mind shopping with you. It felt right, you know?" He unleashes his gleaming smile when I nod. 'So right that I want to do it all of our life.'

When we get back to his house, he helps me out and shoos me into the house. After two trips, he finally closes the door and sags against it, panting.

"Did Sook tire you out shopping Bro?" Alcide chuckles at the sight of the bags and a beat Eric.

"That girl can shop, and she says that she doesn't like it that much." When I look at him, he grins. "Aside from grocery shopping that is." He adds.

I begin taking care of the groceries. Freyda shakes her head at me. "You didn't need to do this. Look at all this, it's too much." _'She is seriously going to cook. Well, I hope that she can. It would be a load off my mind if she is a good cook.'_

"Mom, I didn't let her pay for the food, even though I got in a load of trouble for it." That calmed her down for the moment, and then she spied my wrapping supplies.

"What cute ribbon, and look at this paper. Where did you find this? It is great." She had the same crazy look in her eyes that she had earlier while we were shopping. I told her, I only paid twenty dollars on that stuff.

"You what?" I hand her my receipt, laughing.

"I cannot believe it. Sookie, dear will you go with me tomorrow. I need to see this place for myself."

_'Timber, there goes Mom.'_ Both boys think, sometimes they do act like twins.

"I will go with you, but I plan to be in the kitchen most of the day tomorrow. Where do you store your already wrapped presents? So when I get this loot wrapped, I can stow it all away." She tells me and they wish us a good night.

They are going out for a late night dinner and movie with some friends in town. Alcide tells us he has a date too.

"Good night kids, don't do anything I wouldn't." He calls out as he closes the door. "That doesn't cover much." Eric mutters under his breath.


	6. Chapter 6: I'll Go on Loving You

A/N: First off, I don't get paid for this. All rights and kudos go to Charlane Harris and/or Alan Ball, depending on which you follow. Warning: This contains some citrus, so will many chapters from here on out. I want to thank AerynFarie for pointing out a mistake that I did not catch in the many times that i went through before posting. Thank you all for reading and please continue to do so. I welcome the advice and constructive criticism. If you have not noticed yet, Eric is not your usual Eric.- Krys.

Chapter six:

I go to gather my purchases, to bring them to Eric's room. I plan to work like a little elf. He gently takes the bags from my hands and cocks his eyebrow at me. "I'll get these."

We go up to his room, where he gently drops all the packages and walks into the bathroom. He walks out a few moments later. The water is still running. He slowly walks up to me and soulfully kisses me. "Let's go relax some. They will be gone until late tomorrow morning."

He takes my hand and pulls me into the bathroom. His sunken garden tub is filled with scented bubbles. I turn around and place a small kiss against his jaw.

"Wait Eric. I need to tell you something major. I should have told you before; it is something that might affect what you feel about what I think we are heading towards. Only my grandmother knows so far. If you decide that it is too much for you, then I will understand and pack up. It is not that I didn't trust you but this is huge and I am not joking about it." I take a deep breath and let it out. "Eric, I am telepathic. I can read thoughts. I try to block most people but if you are touching me, I can't."

He smiles at me and raises his shaking hands to take my hair down. Eric can talk a good game, but when it comes to follow through, he gets hung up with his gentlemanly nature. He never wants to push too far.

My hair falls around my shoulders, he massages my scalp. I start unbuttoning his shirt. When's that's done, I ease it off and let it pool on the floor. I wrap my arms around his neck and pull him to my lips. He kisses me back, and after a little while it turns steamy. _'God, I want you so bad.'_ He pushes me against the wall and draws me up, with his hands under my bottom. He steps between my legs that encircle his hips. His hands start roaming my torso, pushing my shirt up, stopping only to draw it over my head. My fingers dig into his hair. I moan when his hands slide back up to cup my breasts through my lacy bra, which he unclasps and slowly takes it off of me, savoring the sight. _'You are so beautiful.'_ His lips trail down my neck; he dips his tongue into the hollow of my collarbone. I throw my head back and enjoy the sensation. He continues his slow descent. He latches onto my left nipple and sucks, while he rubs his thumb across my right one. My panties are soaked by the time he moves his hands down and grabs my hips, which he adjusts as he rotates his against me. I can feel his erection straining his jeans. He pushes into me again and my control shatters.

"Yes baby, cum for me. That's it Sook. I love knowing that I'm the one giving you pleasure." His voice rasps in my ear, as he pushes into me again, building another orgasm. I push back against him, in hopes of increasing the friction.

"That's it baby; we need to take this to another place. Let me help you with these." He pulls away and places a small peck on my forehead. He then turns me so I have my back leaning on his chest. He slides his hands down and unbuttons my jeans, which he then slips off, hooking my panties on the way down. I step out of them. Eric stands slowly, dragging his eyes up my body as he does.

"You're gorgeous Sook." I blush at his sentiment. He is still staring at me as I walk up to him and trail my lips from his ear all the way down to the waistband of his jeans. I rub my hands along his stomach and undo the button and zipper. I slip them off his hips, his boxers follow soon afterward. _'She isn't?'_ His throbbing erection bounces for me, as if it can tell I am going to pay it some attention. I look up into his eyes and drag my tongue from the underside of his balls up to the tip of his dick, slowly. _'Yes, this is better than I imagined.'_ The moan issuing from his throat was enough to egg me on. I draw the tip into my mouth and flick it with my tongue. He hisses my name and I slide more of his member into my mouth and add some suction as I pull back. I kick the tempo up until; he is moaning my name over and over again. I can feel his body tense up like a bowstring.

"Sookie, I'm coming!" He grunts as he shoots streams of hot liquid down my throat. I lick the rest, off his dick and release him from my lips with a pop. He collapses onto his knees and draws me into his arms.

"Thank you so much baby. Your mouth felt so good on my dick. Let's take that bath now." He pulls me up into his arms, bridal style and sets me in the warm water. I shift forward as he climbs in behind me. He threads his arms around me and I lean back on his chest. He rubs a sponge over my body, cleaning the day off of me. I chuckle when he spends extra time on my breasts and pussy. I turn around to return the favor. My legs draped over each of his. He runs his hands up my thighs headed for the promised land. He meets my eyes, asking permission. Then, his fingers run up my slit. He takes the sponge away and gathers me onto his lap.

"Let's get out and continue this on _our_ bed." He stands, gets out and reaches down for me. He carries me into the bedroom.

"I have dreamt of this for a long time now. Will you let make you feel good?" He asks me with pleading eyes. I nod; if I open my mouth I think I would start crying. He makes me feel so loved.

"Baby, let me love you tonight." He pleads again. He licks at my neck and I moan. He takes it as a go ahead and works his way down my body.

Every so often, he stops and pays attention to certain areas like; my breasts, my bellybutton, my hipbones and finally he reaches where I want him the most. He looks up again, through hooded eyes for permission. _'Please, I want to do this so bad. I want to make you scream my name so loud that you lose your voice. You look so good in my bed.'_ When I smile and shift, he hooks my knees over his shoulders and draws a finger down to part my lips. He drags his flattened tongue from my opening to the top of my cleft. A few more passes and I am squirming from the intense pleasure coursing through my body. _'So damned good! She seems to like what I am doing.'_ Eric moans against me, sending a vibration against my clit. That sends me over the edge. My eyes roll back and I scream as I come hard. Eric licks me clean and crawls up the bed to me, a huge grin on his face.

He kisses my cheek. "Thank you, I appreciate you letting me do that." He gathers me close and presses a kiss to my temple. "You taste so good, baby." He whispers in my ear. I stare into his eyes and lean into his chest.

"I should be thanking you. You are almost too much to be true. I still can't believe that you actually want to be with me. The fact that you are beyond incredible in bed, is just frosting on the cake." I blush and keep my eyes down at his chest. "I just love you so much Eric." I finally look into his eyes again. _'You can't believe that I want to be with you? You are the one that should be seen for wanting to be with me. I can't wait any longer, I need to feel her surround me.'_

"Sook, excuse me, I'll be right back." He throws on some boxers and walks out the bedroom. My low self-esteem starts getting to me, when he walks back in. He closes and locks the door. "I know we promised my parents not to, but I don't think I can sleep one more night without making you mine completely. That is if you are ready. If not, I will wait." Again, he goes from romantic to nervous in the snap of a finger. I get on my knees and crawl over to him. I grasp his hand and pull him onto the bed, on his knees.

"I've wanted to make love with you since you came up for Halloween. You make one hot Mad Hatter, my dear."

Eric crushes me to him and kisses me hard. "The one, who was hot, was you, Sook. That dress showed your curves off so well, I had to replay Debbie's latest attempt just to calm down. All I wanted to do was go into the shadows and take you hard. Then when you jumped into my arms at the airport, all I could think of was how close the bathrooms were. This morning, when you and I were fooling around, I was so close to ripping your clothes off. Thank god you took charge of the situation." He caresses my side as he's telling me this.

I put my finger to his lips. "Stop talking honey." I replace my finger with my lips. He lays me back on the bed and climbs between my legs. He pulls back and gazes into my eyes. His fingers slide along my slit and I toss my head back. His thumb rubs on my clit, in small circles, driving me wild. He slips two fingers inside me, setting a rhythm that has me writhing. _'That's it, come for me.'_

"Baby, you're so wet for me and so tight. I can't wait to be inside you. I've never been so hard." He rubs my hand over his erection. "Feel that? That's what you do to me. I'm a walking erection when you're around."

His words add to the growing pressure he is inducing below my waist. He lightly nips my lower lip and my muscles tense up.

"Eric! I am..."

He cuts me off with his mouth. His tongue duels with mine, while he pushes his shorts down. I take the condom from his hand and rip the foil package open. He sucks in a breath and throws his head back, as I roll it down the length of his cock. He crawls up my body as I lay back against the pillows. Taking my hips in his hands, he rubs his face from one breast to another. He then looks up, worried. _'What if I hurt her, she is my world. I want to make this something she will cherish always, our first time.'_

"Are you sure, baby? I don't want to hurt you." He licks slowly up my neck.

"It's going to hurt me a bit, I won't lie, but I want this. I want you." I brush hair out of his eyes. "I trust you, Eric."

He lowers his hips. I can feel him throbbing against me. I roll my hips and he pushes into me. My body stretches to accommodate him. He slowly advances until he hits my barrier. He takes my lips with his and rubs his thumb against my button until I relax some before he retreats a little. I am starting to feel that building in my lower stomach again, when he leans forward._ 'I am glad that we are doing this together. Once I push through, we will be linked forever.'_

"I will always love you, Sookie." He whispers and thrusts forward at the same time as I climax. He waits to let me get used to him being inside me. I roll my hips again and we both moan at the feeling.

"Baby, please move. Make love to me." I murmur in his ear.

He starts to move, sliding in and out. I match him stroke for stroke. I can feel the tension building, but I need some more. As if he could read my mind, Eric picks up the speed of his thrusts. He pushes me higher and higher.

"Sook, you feel so good." He growls in my ear. "Darling, I can feel you tightening, are you going to come?" I moan. I am past the point for speech. "Yeah, I want to feel you cum all over my cock. You are mine. I need to feel you cum baby. You are so beautiful like this." He turns us over, so I am straddling his hips. I grind myself onto him. His hands grasp my hips and he moves with me. I ride his dick with abandon, until he tips me forward and hits my G spot with the head of his cock. I tighten around his dick and with one more quick snap of his hips; I come so hard that it hurts. Eric moans and his face contorts as he explodes buried deep inside me. I collapse against his chest, panting. He gently rolls us over and withdraws from me. I curl onto my side, as he walks into the bathroom. He's back momentarily, with a warm washcloth. He wipes me clean and put the cloth in the hamper. Then he climbs back into bed and gathers me to his chest.

"I cannot thank you enough. You are everything to me and to see you fall apart in my arms is the greatest thing I have ever experienced. I love you." He kisses my head and pulls up the blankets. "Thank you, I love you too." I snuggle closer in his arms.

"As much as, I don't want to get up, I need to visit the bathroom." I tell Eric before we get too comfortable. He loosens his arms and I scoot into the other room. I think about what just happened, while I brush my hair out. I have given the ultimate gift to someone who I love dearly. I know I won't have to worry about the whole stigma but I also need to come to terms with this new step. Eric is the only guy who has stayed longer than three months, what happens now? What will he think in the morning? I have spent enough time in here that he'll be coming soon to find out if I'm OK.

I walk back into the bedroom, to find a nervous wreck, where I left my boyfriend. "Eric what's wrong?" I climb back onto the bed. He is running his fingers through his hair repeatedly. "My dear, you're not going to have any left, if you don't stop doing that." I grab his hands, to still the combing. _'She seemed to be enjoying it. Did I do something wrong? Why did she leave just as I was going to snuggle with her?' _

"Tell me the truth, Sook. Are we OK? I am kind of going out of my mind here." He admits, his eyes pleading with me. _'Please don't leave me, I'll get better.'_ I smile at that, as if he could improve on what he did.

"What are you talking about? I was under the impression that everything was great between us. I mean, you just rocked my world completely. I do think we need to talk about where to go from here but I don't think now is the time."

Eric hauls me onto his lap. "Now would be a good time, actually. Do you think me a villain, for what we just did? I don't think I could make it, if you left because of this." He shakes his head. When he looks up again, I see a line of tears running down his face. I wipe them away.

"The only way I would think you were a villain, is if I hadn't consented to it. I did. I enjoyed it. Get used to the idea. As far as leaving, I will have to in a week, but that's only because of the need of getting back to school. Why would I leave the man I loved because he made passionate love to me?" His smile is breathtaking. I lean down and kiss his eyelids.

"Now that that's over, what do you say to watching me get my crazy Christmas elf on?" I grin and roll my eyes.

"I'd say let the wrapping begin!"

I hop down and set up my "station". Table for wrapping all the goodies, check. Supplies out, check. Loot, check. Bing Crosby cd blaring, double check. Ok, I'm ready to go. Eric comes in on the madness after, making us some hot chocolate._ 'She is absolutely perfect. She can keep up with my brother and Sam's antics. She is beautiful in just my ratty tee and most of all she loves me.'_ I wrap his mother's things first. He watches me place the sweater set in a box with tissue paper, carefully fold over the ends and cover the box. I then measure the paper out and wrap it the way I was taught. Only three pieces of tape. I next string the ribbon along the box and after securing it; make a multi loop bow, which I attach to the present. I do the same with her pearl set. I wrap the vase in two layers of tissue paper place in a tall box and wrap it in the same paper. I move on to Alcide's. I found some Perry the Platypus paper. I fold the shirts and layer them in a box and fold the tissue over them. Eric starts to laugh when I unroll the Perry paper.

"Oh, that has to be for Alcide!" He chuckles. "I can't wait until you whip out the first one. I need to remember a camera for that."

"Christmas in Killarnney" comes on and I start to belt it out along with Bing. I loose myself in the song. I look up when I hear a click. I then realize that I was dancing also. The big grin on Eric's face was priceless. "There's that smile." _'What seventeen year old listens to Bing Crosby? Not even my parents listen to that stuff, but she is happy singing and dancing along to it.'_

"I'll tell you what teen listens to Ol' Bing. One that was raised by her grandparents. I like Lawrence Welk also." I raise my eyebrow at him. No one may dis Bing in my presence. My girlfriends learned that when I didn't talk to them for three months after a snide comment about the crooner.

He sweeps me into his arms and we dance to the music for a few moments. Then I get back to work, I finish wrapping his brother's gifts from Spencer's. Eric gets up to return our cups to the kitchen. While he's gone, I rush to get the certificates into their boxes. I wrap one in the Perry paper, one in cream paper with 'O Holy Night written across it in gold script, and the last one in a Dress Campbell plaid paper. I am starting to cut the ribbon for Alcide's, when Eric comes back.

"Wow, Mom was right, that paper is cool. I know Alcide's paper, but whose are these, honey?" He motions to the other two presents. Once I finish tying the bow on Alcide's, I start cutting the ribbons for the other two. A small smile on my lips. I mime locking my mouth with a key.

I tell him to go while I wrap his gifts. Of course, his big one will already be wrapped. He comes back in after a few minutes. I have gotten all his presents wrapped luckily.

"Baby, come to bed. It's late, especially if you want to cook all day while I toil in the barns. I want to hold you while we sleep. I think I have gotten addicted to having you in my bed after only one night." He massages my shoulders and whispers in my ear. His nose traveling from my shoulder to my ear a few times. I lean back against him.

"My poor baby." He sighs and picks me up bridal style. I stir a little when he sets me down on the bed. He carefully dresses me in one of his t-shirts and my pair of fuzzy pants. He in turn steps into a pair of basketball shorts. I curl into his chest when he climbs into bed and pulls the covers around us. He shifts a lock of my hair and pecks my brow.

"Goodnight, my love. I'll see you in the morning." He whispers and turns off the bedside lamp.

I fold into the fetal position a couple of hours later. _'Oh no, not again, not here.'_ My abdomen seizes up and I can't breathe. I sip at the air, trying to will the pain away without having to get up. Eric reaches out for me and tries to pull me closer, at the worst possible moment. I hiss out the pain.

"Baby! What's wrong? Did I hurt you?" Eric jumps up and snaps the light back on. Once he sees me, he really starts to worry. "Sookie? Please answer me. Do you need me to take you to the hospital?" I shake my head. _'Oh my god! What if I hurt her with what we did tonight? She did bleed a little, but that's normal right?'_

"No, but do you have some Rolaids? This hasn't happened since Thanksgiving night." I ask in a whisper.

"OK baby, I'll be right back." He jumps out of bed and runs into the bathroom, returning with a bottle of Rolaids. I chomp down a few and turn on my back. My body relaxes and I thank Eric. He gives me a concerned look and nods as he turns the light back off. I snuggle back into his arms with a sigh. We both fall back asleep.

I wake in the morning, with Eric caressing my face. "Morning beautiful, how are you feeling?" His concern is written in his aqua colored eyes.

"Morning, my handsome man. Yes, I am feeling better, and before you ask I am going to set up an appointment with my doctor when I get home." You could see the relief set in.

"Thank you. Now how about we take that whole bundle of presents to Mom's closet. I need to get cracking on the stalls and I am close to saddle breaking a horse for a neighbor. I could use some breakfast." He kisses my nose and gets out of bed. I beat him to the bathroom and start the shower. I am wetting down my hair, when the stall door opens and my man steps in.

"Why waste the chance to see my lovely woman naked. I won't get a chance again until tonight. Now come here darling, let me wash you please." He adds the shampoo to my hair and works it into a lather. He rinses it out, parting my hair here and there, making sure to get it all out. I grab the soap and start washing our bodies while he puts some shampoo through his own hair. His eyes bug out when I start rinsing off. _'Damn!'_ Next thing I know, I am against the shower wall, with his tongue down my throat. I kiss him back.

He breaks away from me and smiles. "Sorry, I couldn't help it baby. You looked so hot, I had to kiss you." He apologizes and shuts off the water. We dry off and get dressed. Walking down the stairs, he stops me and raises my hand to his mouth. "Thank you for last night. I enjoyed spending time just you and me. Even if you are a crazy elf." He takes my face in his hands and stares into my eyes, "Are you sure, you're okay with everything? I don't just mean what happened but also your health. I love you, and I will be here for you." He pecks me on the lips and we continue down the stairs.


	7. Chapter 7: Domestic

Chapter seven:

After breakfast, the boys and Godric, go out to tend to the ranch. I help clean up and then start getting to work on my stollen. While they are cooking, I get to work on the spice cookies, as well as the molasses, sugar, chocolate chip and peanut butter cookies. Next is the danish, potato and chocolate doughnuts. By lunch, I am covered in flour and other baking agents. I start the bread and rolls. Freyda comes in and gasps. _'She doesn't just cook. She COOKS!'_

"My lord, did you make all this?"

"It helps when there are three ovens to work with." I chuckle, as I start the Broccoli soup for lunch. It seems like a good day for it. I heat up some dinner rolls to go with it. When Godric, Eric and Alcide come in, we are setting it on the table.

"This soup is terrific! Can I have the recipe?" Freyda asks after one sip. "And these rolls are great." Alcide plows through two bowls of soup and five rolls before pushing his chair back. "You are one heck of a cook, sis." He pats my shoulder on the way out of the house. Eric and his father take their time, discussing how the horse is coming along.

When they finish, Godric thanks me sincerely and tips his hat to me before heading back to work. Eric helps bring the dishes out to the kitchen, where Freyda is starting a sink to wash them. He kisses me on the cheek and thanks me before joining his father and brother, grabbing a spice cookie and winking at me on the way out.

"It does my heart good to see you two together. It's like a cherry on top that you are an excellent cook. I know he will be well taken care of." What is she talking about?

"Thank you. Now if you excuse me, I want to get a jump on supper. I hope you don't mind lasagna and garlic bread."

She grins at me. "Not at all, it happens to be Godric's and my favorite meal. I have never been able to make one to my satisfaction though." I smile, as I start frying up the sausage, hamburg, peppers and onions. I season and drain them. Next I start my sauce; dumping three cans of spaghetti sauce into a short stockpot. I add the meat mixture, and season again. I spread a thin layer of sauce in the bottom of my pan and begin the layers.

"You don't cook your noodles?" Freyda asks, amazed. I shake my head. "No, with the sauce as it is, I don't need to." I add my cheeses and the pepperoni and repeat until all I have left is a double cheese layer. I stash it in the refrigerator. Minutes later, the bread joins it. I get started on cleaning my mess, it takes a while. Freyda and I take a break with some tea and cookies. "I froze some cookies, doughnuts and one of the stollen." She just shakes her head. _'Say you'll never leave him and I will sign the whole checkbook over to you.'_

"You are too much, to be true, and to think Eric found you at confirmation camp. We had to convince them to go, you know. Alcide was getting into the wrong crowd. That's why we moved. Eric just sulked around the house. He came home after that week and was a changed man. Even Alcide was different. Eric couldn't stop talking about you. I am so glad, you fit so well together." I hug her and go to start the mulled cider.

"My God, girl do you ever stop?" Alcide comes in while I'm stirring the cider. I smirk up at him. "It takes a lot of cooking to keep up with you, brother." I curtsey deeply and walk back to my chair. I sit down before I hear a bellow of laughter. Eric and Godric are behind Alcide. Godric holds up his hands in surrender to me and claps Eric on the back.

"Son, any woman who can dish it right back to your brother and cook like this one can, you marry as soon as she lets you. Sookie, as far as I am concerned, I will be honored to call you my daughter in law." I thank him and look at the clock. I turn around and get supper out to cook. An hour later, we sit down to eat. Once again I get rave reviews. I go to bed that night happy that I paid back a small amount of generosity they've shown me.

I wake up early on Christmas Eve, before Eric. Once again, I need to use the bathroom. I run my hand down his chest to wake him enough to let me go. I come back and snuggle into his arms again. He brings me closer still and kisses me before we fall back asleep.

The day passes quickly, with me trying to hide the huge package that the delivery truck brings. Lucky for me, Freyda decides to start placing the gifts under the seven foot tree in the living room. We hide the saddle behind the tree and the little gifts in the tree; while I tell her about how long ago they would place it all in the tree with elaborate tying and let the kids go crazy. She laughs. I am now glad that I bought her that book about Christmas in the past. She has the same reaction to Alcide's paper that Eric did, and oohs and aahs at the bows on all my packages.

"I know, I can cook, wrap and a few other things but don't ask me to walk a straight line."

We are all sitting by the fireplace in our pjs, sipping cider and cocoa, when this urge comes upon me. I start reciting 'A Visit from St. Nicholas', first to myself and then as everyone turns to listen, out loud. I actually do the whole thing, something that I haven't been able to since my Nana died years ago. As I get to the end, tears are streaming down my face, though I am smiling. Eric wraps his arms around me and hugs me. "Let's go to bed. We have a big morning of laughing ahead of us." I snuggle down into our bed and drift away with a silent prayer to God for letting me find such a great guy.


	8. Chapter 8: Christmas

Chapter eight:

Eric and I forgot to lock the bedroom door when we went to bed. We pay for that mistake, when we are woken up at dawn by an over- excited Alcide. He runs in and jumps on our bed, like a six year old.

"Come on guys, it's Christmas!" he whines. "You are acting like two old fuddy duddies. Eric, Sook, presents, now." He chants. I look at Eric and stretch. We tell him we will be down in a few minutes. I throw on a pair of jeans and a vee-neck sweater. Eric walks into the closet and comes out, wearing a similar outfit. I giggle and walk down the stairs. He jogs down and shakes his camera at me, winking. I wrap some cinnamon rolls in foil and heat them up. We eat breakfast and sit down in front of the tree.

"Who wants to go first?" Godric asks rubbing his hands together. I laugh at the look of fake greed on his face. Freyda gets up and hands me a present. "Here you go, honey. From Godric and I." I carefully open the paper. There is a black velvet box sitting in my hand. I look around nervous to open it. I push back the lid and gasp, in the case there is a silver necklace with a heart pendant. "Thank you, it is gorgeous! Eric, can you put on me please?" I lift my hair up. He opens the clasp and loops the necklace around my neck. He kisses my nape after fastening it.

"My turn." I hop up. I hand a long box to Godric. He looks up at me in surprise and lightly shakes the box. "Just tear into it, it's only wrapping paper." He does with relish. Lifting the lid to the box, he looks over at me and narrows his eyes. "I know how much these cost, are you sure?" I nod and smile. "Well then, thank you." He smiles and lifts the coat out. Freyda gasps. "I was waiting until after the holidays to get you one, honey." Godric then sees the two flannel shirts under the coat. "Sookie, you are too much to be true."

Godric gets up and hands presents to both of the boys. They turn out to be a pair of muck boots. From their reactions I could tell they were needed by both. Both guys thank their parents. It was sort of sweet it hear them speak in unison. I motion to Eric to get his camera ready, I hand Alcide one of his presents, it turned out to be the bust. He cracked a smile at the paper, and then asked me who it was.

"You've got to be kidding me! Mister kid in an adult's body doesn't know Perry the Platypus. He is from Phineas and Ferb. Just unwrap the present, Alcide." Which he does. "Oh, cool its Michael Myers! Thanks Sook!" He snatches me up, out of Eric's arms and spins me around. When he sets me down again, Eric is waiting with a present for me. Its DVD shaped. I rip the paper off to see its 27 Dresses. I laugh. "Thank you, baby. I love it." I kiss his cheek. I jump up to get him his DVD. "So, the plaid is mine, huh?" He chuckles as he opens it. "Hey, Cowboy Way. I've wanted to see this. Thanks babe."

Alcide gets up and hands one to his mother. "Oh Alcide, thank you." Tears well up in her eyes when she opens a Pandora bracelet, with five birthstones on it. When she counts and looks at him in confusion, he smiles at me before he speaks. "Sookie was born in April, The diamond is hers." He had called me while I was still home and asked my birthstone. "Of course yours would be the expensive one, Sis." He griped when I told him April. "Oh, that makes it all the more special. All three of my kids." I smile at being included.

I have not given a present to Freyda yet, so I hand her the pearl set. She starts crying again. "That is so pretty. Thank you." Alcide laughs at his shirts. He gives me $100 gift card to Bath and Bodyworks. I jump into his lap and kiss him on the cheek and whisper in his ear

"Thanks, Eric will appreciate the new scents and the massage oil." His face turns beat red.

Eric hands me another gift. He sits and loops his arms around me, as I open it. It's a Pandora bracelet also. It's not as full as Freyda's but it's still very pretty. "Do you like it?" He asks. "Of course, thank you honey."

I hand Freyda her vase, which she loves. "I am going to think about where to put it. I usually leave the decorations up until after Jan.1st." I give Eric his belt and cds, all in one box. He kisses me and asks me about the three boxes in the tree. "Okay, I'll get them." I hand one to Alcide, Godric and Eric. "Honey, I wasn't fishing. I was just curious." I tell them to please open them at the same time. Freyda looks anxious. When I give the go ahead the guys rip into the paper.

"Holy God, Sookie." Alcide looks at the other gifts, I gave him.

"Sookie, that's $150. Thank you as I know you would not get it if you didn't want to." Godric says as his wife almost faints after looking.

"Sookie honey, this is too much. You've done enough already. You didn't even need to do as much as you've already done." Eric murmurs in my ear.

I laugh at them. Godric is right. He can already read me better than any of my family at home, aside from my grandmother. "Sorry Eric, but I'm not done yet." I pat his knee as he shakes his head. He stands and hands me another package. When I open it, it's a stack of wedding DVDs and another necklace. It's platinum, with a heart. It says 'My heart belongs to Eric.' "Thank you, baby! I love it! Yes it does!" I kiss him fully on the lips.

"Now if you'll excuse me." I get up and unwedge the big package from behind the tree. Freyda grins at me as I try to heft it. Alcide hops up to help me. "Geez, this is heavy, Sookie." he grunts. I hand Freyda her last present, while he carries the crate over to Eric.

"It should be." I bite out at him. We set it down in front of Eric. He squints up at me. "You've done enough."

"I bought this before anything else." I smirk at him.

He starts to unwrap it. He groans when he sees the logo of the saddle shop. "Are you out of you mind? Do you realize how much these cost?" He lifts the top off the crate. There sat a western saddle with his name tooled into the leather. I had his number from PBR tooled in also. He starts to tear up. "Thank you Sookie, really this is great! I love you." He pulls me into his arms and kisses me soundly. Then he pulls the saddle out, to show his family.

"Yes, Eric I do know how much they cost." I chuckle. "And babe, your welcome."

Godric and Alcide whistle at me. They reverently stroke the leather.

That night, after we say goodnight to the family and lock the door, Eric pounces. "You didn't need to spend all that money on us." He growls at me. I cringe back from him. I don't know if he's trying to be nice or is actually mad. I for the first time ever, purposely take a dip into someone's mind. He thinks that I spent all that money to make him and his family like me more. If he wants a fight, then he's got one.

"I didn't need to, but I wanted to. If you are thinking I was trying to buy all of your affections, you're wrong. Yes, I wanted your parents to like me, but like you said, Alcide already liked me. I thought your parents liked me before we went shopping. I'm sorry if I am generous to a fault. I finally have other people to buy for, not to mention a boyfriend.

If you're worried that I splurged on your family and skimped on mine, I got my father a new dishwasher. My brother got a brand new Wii and a dozen games. I got my sister five cookbooks, a set of cooking pots and a new sewing machine. My grandparents are going on a bus tour to Branson in April. I bought my uncle a new Black Lab."

The angry tears start welling up, maybe not in my eyes yet, but I can feel them coming. I grab my night clothes and head into the bathroom. I strip and start the shower. I hold onto my tears until I get in. I shampoo and wash with them streaming down my face. _'Great job Sookie. You drove him away. Now you're stuck in his house until you fly back.'_ My chest rips open with my sobs as I sink to the floor of the shower. I have never been in love before and now it's over. I am so wrapped up in crying that I don't hear him walk in and step into the shower. I jump when I feel his hand on my shoulder.

"Sookie, I'm soo sorry. I am such a jerk." He strokes my back. My body's response makes me cry even more. I just want him to take me in his arms, yet my mind is telling me that he is about to tell me to pack up and get out.

Eric pulls me up and lifts my chin to make me look him in the eye. "I am sorry baby, please forgive me. I'm not used to people doing that for me other than my family. I understand if you want to sleep alone tonight, I deserve it." He hangs his head, a tear trickles down his cheek. I sink into his chest and feel his arms wrap around me. He finally shuts the taps off. He picks me up and grabs a towel off the rack. He carries me into the bedroom and puts me down and rubs me dry with the towel. "I'll make this up to you for the rest of our lives." He swears softly into my ear, he lays me down on the bed.

"Please Eric, just get in bed and hold me. I kind of need to you to be here right now." I plead. "Of course, I'll be here as long as you need me to be. I'm sorry. Let me get your pajamas." He comes back quickly. I dress and climb into bed with him. He's as skittish as he was the first night I was here. I snuggle into his chest again, his arms wrap around me just as I'm falling asleep. "I hope I didn't push you away, I need you in my life. I love you, Sookie." I hear him whisper before he shut the light off.

In the morning, I wake up alone. I don't hear anything in the bathroom. I get dressed, depressed. My worst nightmare is coming true, either that or it's all been a dream. The only thing is I am still in Eric's bedroom. I look for a note, when I don't find one, I head down the stairs. This is a perfect day for some black coffee. I need to get my head straight. Freyda thanks me again for yesterday. I repeat the thanks as I pour some coffee for myself.

"Where are the guys?"

"Eric wanted to get an early start. He's been bull and thrashing since he got up two hours ago. What happened last night?"

"I really don't know. Once he closed the door"

'_Oh, I love you Eric, but if you drove this girl away with your stubborn attitude, I will take you over my knee. I don't care if you are eighteen.' _

Freyda stops me. "I know. We try to make the boys work for what they have. The only times they get special treatment is their birthday and Christmas. So, my boy accused you of trying to buying us huh?" I nod. "He apologized before we went to sleep."

"Make him work for it, Sook."

I told her I would think about it. I rinse out my cup and walk out to the stables. I find Eric easily. I jump up on the rails and watch him work with the horse. Every time he tries to get closer, the horse steps sideways and it almost limps. I drop to the ground and walk around the pen to get a closer look. When I get on the opposite side of the horse, I see what is wrong. The poor thing's forelock was stunted. I know they were trying to break it for a neighbor, as a favor.

I clear my throat softly. Eric looks over the horse's back at me. "Yes?" He grinds out. I let it go for now, he's under some pressure. _'Here it comes. "Eric, can you drive me to the airport. I had a nice time, but don't ever contact me again." I don't know how I will fix this.'_

"Are you getting paid for breaking the horse?"

"No."

"Well, I hope your neighbors aren't really hoping to sell her as a riding horse." I see his father and brother walk toward the pen.

"What do you mean? Of course they are." He turns away. _'Dad is counting on me to do this. I am supposed to be the one with the magic touch with horses.'_ He berates himself. I climb the rails and jump over. I walk over, while shushing the horse. She is already nervous, she needs to be calmed. I grab the bridal and rub her nose, all the while looking her in the eye. Once she has calmed enough for me to focus on her issues, I let go and scrooch down to show him what I see.

"Her forelock muscle over here is stunted. She almost falls every time she sidesteps. If you tried to have anyone past the age of five ride her, she'll fall and rip it." Godric comes over to my side. I point it out to him.

"That son of a…" He whistles. He hops the rail, and feels up her leg. Eric comes around and looks also. "Eric call him up. Sook is right; this poor girl is in pain." He rubs the side of the horse down. "And pregnant." Eric heads off to the tack room to make the call, without a thank you or a look. I climb over the rails after Godric thanks me and sit on a bale of hay.

Alcide sits down with me, when he sees a tear fall down my cheek. "Hey, I know him best. He's beating himself up over something. I'm assuming it has something to do with you. You leave in a week, right?" I nod. "Let's go out tonight. Sam and Pam are coming down and wanted the three of us to go clubbing with them. Think you're up to it?" He hugs me when I agree. "He'll go just to keep the others away from you."

I take a walk around the ranch. I am visiting with the sheep, when Eric finds me. "I'm sorry if I was short with you earlier. I wasn't expecting you to be out here. You were right; she is in no shape to be ridden." He takes his hat off and wipes his brow before replacing it. "Alcide tell you about Sam and Pam?" I nod "Will you save me a dance tonight?" I shake my head this time. His face falls. "I understand." He starts to walk away. I stop him by grabbing his hand and dragging him into the barn. We climb to the hayloft to talk.

"I am only here because of and for you. Eric, I was planning on going with you, as your date. I'm your girlfriend aren't I still?" He nods before the rest of my words sink in. "Really?"

"Yes, you fool. I will even let you buy me dinner, if you want." He cheers up at that. "I was worried that you came out here to tell me to take you to the airport. How about we tell our friends and relation that we will meet them at the club? We'll go to dinner and talk about what to do about us and then dance the night away." He pulls me into his lap and kisses my cheek. "Of course, my brother will think I stole his date away, he'll have to deal with it, because you're mine." He laughs at the thought. "Thank God." He whispers and runs his nose up my neck. _'I am the luckiest man on earth.'_

"Here's the bad news, I'm like a cat. I can climb up most things, but climbing back down is another thing entirely." He laughs again. "I'm not joking; you're going to have to help me down." He goes down a couple steps and waits for me. We climb down slowly. He jumps the last four steps and guides me down, holding my hips. I don't think it was necessary but it felt nice that he was touching me again.


	9. Chapter 9: Crazy Girl

A/N: This is the chapter that the story gets it's name from.

Chapter nine:

Godric and Freyda tell us that they are going out for the night again and we will not see them until morning. The house was ours. Eric tells Alcide that he is taking me to dinner to apologize and we will meet him, Sam and Pam at the club. I go to start the process of making me look half way decent. I had packed some skimpier clothes for the club. Pam had told me that the boys go from time to time. Eric just sits and listens to the music, pining away for me while everyone dances. Alcide told me that every girl will be green when he walks in with me. Great, I'm going to be a pariah in two states, forty-eight to go.

Three hours later, Eric knocks on the guest room's door. I got ready here because I didn't want him to be out his bathroom all day. When I open it, his mouth drops to his toes. _'I want you, but I will wait until we are back to stable ground before I have my wicked way with you.'_ When I step back, he walks in. "You look great baby. I don't want to share you with all those guys. These are for you." He holds out a large shoe box. I take it from him and notice the Justin logo, I squint up at him. Eric rolls his eyes. "Just open it, Sookie." He sighs.

I open the box, inside are the most beautiful white cowboy boots. They are kid leather with snakeskin insets. I jump into his arms. "Thank you Eric, I love them." I pull off my dress shoes. The boots go great with my denim skirt and eyelet lace wrap blouse. "You know how I told you I bought two hats?" I nod, wondering where he is going. If he is about to say one is mine, I'm going to plotz.

"Here's yours, Babe." He places it on my head, and then he looks nervous. "I didn't think about your hair, I'm sorry." I laugh. "Don't worry. There is so much hairspray on this braid and bangs that Mr. Gore is probably going to show up in a few minutes to rip me a new one." Eric cracks up.

"Come on, let's go. If we don't leave soon, I am going to drag you into my bedroom and peel all of this off your sweet little body. I do want to see Sam and I am sure you want to see Pam." He growls in my ear as he trails his nose up my neck. He takes my hand and we walk out to the truck. He drives to a little Italian bistro. The host seats us at a wraparound booth in the back. We move to the middle and sit together. I am scanning the menu, when he grasps my hand. I look up to see him staring at me.

"Think of this night as the beginning of me making it up to you. Before you say anything, I want to give you the world. I want to be the one who you say 'I do' to, you have children with, you grow old with. I am not proposing yet, but I want you to know that I plan to, once I build up enough courage to ask your family. I want to do it right. I am going to treat you like a queen for the rest of your life." _'Please God; let her see that I want her and only her for my wife. Sookie, I love you so much. Please don't give up on us. I need you; I love you and only you. I will convince you if it is the last thing I do.'_

I tear up and lean against him. Our waitress comes for our order. Our eyes meet again.

"Will you let me?" He asks.

"Eric, your mother told me to make you work for it, but I can't stay mad at anyone for long, unless it's a major infraction. I have never dreamed that someone like you would want to be with me. You are the only guy who has shown any real interest in me. Even though you were in that crazy get up, and my grandfather and uncle didn't understand the idea. They liked you." Our food comes and we eat without saying much more.

I can't get my head around it, he wants to marry me. Me! The girl no one else wanted. He pays and we walk out. As we ride to the club, he starts to chuckle.

"What did I drop something on myself again?" I scan my clothes for any stains.

"No baby, still spotless. I was just thinking about having to fight the guys off. I'm going to have a bad enough time controlling the jealously if you dance with Alcide and Sam. What happens if another asks you? I know I think you'll be the best looking there. The other girls are skinny skanks for lack of a better word." I blush at his praise. I am trying to calm myself down when we arrive. Pam runs over to me as Eric closes my door.

"Sook, you are hot tonight! Let's get in there, I want to dance." She grabs my arm and pulls me inside. Sam and Alcide give me double thumbs up as we pass. The guys follow us in and find a table big enough for the five of us to sit at. The minute the music hits my ears, my hips start to sway on their own. I can dance to almost anything, but my body dances to country all by itself. I have never told anyone.

I set my purse down on the table. "Hey Pam, I'll meet you out there if you can keep up." I laugh as I sashay to the floor. The music changes as she dances up to me. 'Boondocks" comes on and my body takes off. Pam and I are dancing back to back and around each other. The bar is in an uproar when the song ends. Pam and I look at each other and laugh that is until we look over to our table. I tap her on the shoulder and motion to the bar. I order a water. Someone clears their throat. I look to see a guy about my age. He must think he's God's gift or something, the way he's checking me out and licking his lips. _'Finally, something worth coming to this hole in the wall. She is the finest thing in here. I bet I can take her from that loser Northman. It would be a favor to Sophie also. She is hot for that guy.'_

"Hey, I am Bill. How about I get you a drink and we go out to my truck?" He purrs in my ear. _'I will fuck you so hard.'_ I am repulsed. "No, my drinks are paid for by either someone in my group or myself. Thank you for the offer. As for your other offer, I think my boyfriend, his brother or our friend would take offense to that. Now please excuse me sir." I walk away with my water.

Pam and I devise a plan to help our guys out. Our empty chairs have been taken by some girls who look like they're on the make. Alcide, I'm sorry but you're on your own. We walk over to the table and I put my change in my purse. The girls glare at us, trying to scare us off. I chuckle to myself and sit down, on Eric's lap. Pam does the same with Sam.

"Sorry about that baby, but we just had to dance to that." I apologize to him, nuzzling his ear. I can feel him stirring under me. He whispers "thanks". The strawberry blonde girl almost growls at me. _'What the hell bitch, he is mine. My parents are in talks with his about getting us together, seeing as he has never shown any interest. ERIC IS MINE!'_

"Eric are you going to introduce me to your friends? I did." I drag a finger down his neck. _'More of that please. You make me feel so good. I love you, baby.'_

"You're right, honey. Sook, this is Sophie and her twin sister Hadley." pointing to the strawberry blonde and her blonde companion.

"That's right! I'm his girlfriend. So please get off of him you fat skank." She growls openly. I turn to Eric and our group. He pleads for help silently.

"Is that so? Eric who knew you had such a following?" He shrugs. "Well Sophie, you are at best the second girl who has claimed to be his girlfriend, this week even.

I find it funny because he flew me down from Maine, to spend the Holidays with him and his family. I sleep in his bed at night. I'm the one he jets off to see. You see, I am his girlfriend. I have been since before they moved here. Oh yeah, and I am the one that he practically proposed to just an hour ago. I'm sorry but you don't stand a chance. Bye now." I wave and turn back to the table.

"Pam, do you have any sanitizer, I need to clean that chair. Who knows what is catching a ride on that?" I motion to the red head slut.

When the girls leave in a huff, I apologize to Eric. He beams at me. "That was amazing!" No, it wasn't. This was supposed to be us and our friends not, "Hey, let's see if Sook will chase away another for me." My face falls as I look away and around the club.

"At least these girls want to actually get with you. Back home, the guys just want to humiliate me." I mutter. _'They are fools.'_ All three of the guys think at the same time. I smile at the praise.

Pam yells over the music, "Still?" to which I nod glumly. "I don't care as much, now that I have Eric, but yes." _'I think I have him, hell I don't even know if I want him now.'_ She tells me we are going shopping while we are down here. I look around, starting to feel awkward, there are many girls glaring at me. I had been warned, but this is ridiculous, they are foaming at the mouth for him. This whole week, I have been chasing off girls while he just sits there. I excuse myself to the bathroom. I need to think about this.

Pam follows me. "Need help thinking about it?" She asks. "I could tell that he made you feel uncomfortable with that. That Hadley girl was only sitting there; she offered to move for me."

"Sophie isn't the first this week to pull this shit. I want to believe that he is being loyal, but tonight I have gotten these flashes that tell me that he is just using our relationship to chase away the others. He's said all the right things, but this night was supposed to be him making it up to me for getting mad about what I spent on him and his family. I ripped him a new one last night and with this, I am feeling worse. For the first time, I don't know if I want to put up with this." Pam hugs me as I break down crying for the second night in a row.

"Honey, he should have chased them away the minute that they sat down or came to us, instead of having you do it. He knew that you were already shaky about him. Why don't you go outside and get some air? There is a door just outside the bathroom doors. Come on, we'll go outside and get your bearings." She ushers me outside. We sit out there for a bit, talking about what has happened since we last saw each other this summer. Sam comes out looking for us. I snort; I am not going to let this ruin their night. _'At least one of our boyfriends cares enough to come looking for us.'_ Pam looks at me, knowing what I am thinking. She frowns as I bite my lip. They both convince me to go back inside and make the most of the rest of the night. "Just ignore him, you still owe me and Alcide a dance. He'll get the picture if you only dance with us." Sam hugs me and leads Pam and I back to the door.

The three of us walk into the club and head to our table again. There are a flock of girls around the twins and I have had enough. I plan to grab my purse and get a hotel room for the rest of the week. I mentally calculate my funds and square my shoulders for the walk over to Eric. I gather the rest of my pride and launch into my best stride. Alcide winces when he sees my face. I reach the table and the group of girls sneer at me, this time I grab my purse, glare at Eric, even though he doesn't see it as he is flirting with one of the other girls, and turn to walk away. _'I knew it was too good to be true. I should have told him no when he asked me out. I am way too plain.'_ "She is beyond pissed. Eric, you just lost her, man. For the second time tonight, you have floozies vying for your attention. You just lost a good woman. She was crying in Pam's arms out there, it took the both of us to convince her to come back in." I hear Sam cursing at his buddy. I get out of the door and dig my phone out to call a cab.

"Crazy Girl" by Eli Young Band comes on inside and someone grabs my wrist before I can dial a cab company. "You want to dance?" I look up at Eric, with tears in my eyes, which he wipes away. He takes my hand, leads me back inside and we head to the floor, amid the outraged cries of the pack of floozies.

**'Baby why you wanna cry?**

**You oughta know that I**

**Just have to walk away sometimes**

**We're gonna do what lovers do**

**We're gonna have a fight or two**

**But I ain't ever changin' my mind**

**Crazy girl, don't you know I love you?**

**And I wouldn't dream of goin' nowhere**

**Silly woman, come here, let me hold you**

**Haven't I told you lately?**

**I love you like crazy, girl**

**Wouldn't last a single day**

**I'd probably just fade away**

**Without you, I'd lose my mind**

**Before you ever came along**

**I was livin' life all wrong**

**Smartest thing I ever did was make you all mine**

**Crazy girl, don't you know I love you?**

**And I wouldn't dream of goin' nowhere**

**Silly woman, come here, let me hold you**

**Haven't I told you lately?**

**I love you like crazy, girl**

**Crazy girl**

**Crazy girl, don't you know I love you?**

**And I wouldn't dream of goin' nowhere**

**Silly woman, come here, let me hold you**

**Haven't I told you lately?**

**I love you like crazy, girl**

**Crazy girl, don't you know I love you?**

**And I wouldn't dream of goin' nowhere**

**Silly woman, come here, let me hold you**

**Haven't I told you lately?**

**I love you like crazy, girl**

**Like crazy**

**Crazy girl**

**Like crazy**

**Crazy girl**

**Like crazy**

It feels good to dance with him again. "I am sorry about that. You are right, you know. No one else stands a chance with me. You are my world. Please don't leave me, baby. I will do anything to keep you." He whispers to me with tears in his voice and pulls me closer. I lay my head on his collarbone and close my eyes as my tears flow down my face. This is where I should be, in his arms forever. We stay out on the floor through the next two songs. When the third song ends, Eric tips my face up to him and kisses me. "There is only one person that I will ever want in my arms and that is you." I tell him that we will talk about all of this later. I don't want to ruin Pam and Sam's visit with my humiliation. We sit down at the table and talk with our friends. The night flies by dancing, laughing and relaxing with our group. It's like we were back in N.H. I ignore Eric for most of the night, dancing with Alcide and Sam and Pam too, a few more times. I sit across the table from him and try to shove my broken heart away for the time being.

"So, Sook and I are busy tomorrow, Mr. Northman. I am changing her image for school. She is fine around us, like she is, but she needs to step it up a notch at school. I want those dogs baying by Valentine's." Pam tells Eric, deviously rubbing her hands together. "We all know she's yours. They just need to realize that they passed up the best thing out there. When I'm done, even the gay guys will be sniffing." I laugh at the idea of me turning the gay guys at my school straight.

"Don't worry Eric, I'm just going to sink to their level a bit." I smirk. Eric relaxes when I say that nothing is going to change between us yet.

"Okay, I want in. I'm going to show those yahoos how to woo a woman." He grins up at me. _'I will show you that you can trust me. I refuse to lose you over something like this. You are stuck with me. Don't give up; I am yours until I die.'_

We head home around one in the morning. Eric and I crawl into bed and pass out in each other's arms. I wake up to a smiling blue eyed half naked god. "Morning baby. I need to do quite a lot of work on the ranch today. It's a good thing you and Pam are going shopping. I'm serious about helping. Take my debit card, have fun. "

I start to protest until he silences me with his lips. "No, we are getting these pricks back." He swears. "No one should do that to someone else, and no one messes with my woman. I am sorry about last night. I thought that we would have fun if I brought you there and it turned into a big mess. Both of our dates down here have. I admit that there are many girls at school that want to date me, but I keep telling them that I have been taken for some time now." He climbs out of bed and gets dressed. "I'll see you later, even if I have to hunt you down." I get up and head to the shower.

_'We'll see about that. I have never been so humiliated in my life and that includes the assholes at school. Here I thought our relationship meant a lot to him and I find out that it only means enough to get the masses off his back.'_ I start crying again. Once I get myself under control, I shut the water off and dry my eyes. Pam has seen enough of my water works for one visit.


	10. Chapter 10: title to be coming soon

A/N: Another chapter up. Eric is going to be a tiny bit more OOC in this. I figure I have taken a huge leap with him so far in this whole story. Sookie gets to speak her mind a bit also. I hope you enjoy it! Remember, I only play around with the characters. I wish I could do more but I digress. Did you hear that Stephen Moyer is to be Captain Von Trapp? Can the Bill sing? Until later- Krys

Chapter ten:

When I am dressed, I go to find Pam. She is having a coffee and talking to Freyda.

"Are you ready to go?" Freyda asks. I smile. "Yes, let's shop 'til I drop." Between Eric's card, mine, Pam's, Alcide's and Freyda's, I think I bought out the whole inventory of the Deb, Forever 21, and H&M, not to mention a bunch of shoe stores. I have had my hair highlighted, cut and styled. I bought just about everything in the two scents that I love, including the spray colognes, at Bath and Bodyworks. Pam makes me promise that I will wear make-up and style my hair every day. I think I can keep it up for five months.

Freyda drags me into a specialty underwear shop, much to my chagrin. After they poked and prodded me for a while and I tried a few different sizes, they agree on what I should buy to keep me penned in but also show off what I have. I use Eric's card to buy every bra, panties, and some other nice things I can here. I figure he won't mind the price, once he sees the store's name on the statement. The receipt details each item bought. Also it's a little payback for last night.

In a dress shop, I try on this one that both Pam and I spy, it fits like a glove and I slap my card down. It is exactly what I would pick if I was to get married. Simple, short, fitted at the bodice and a flare skirt. I don't want a "Wedding". I'm the type to go to Vegas and be perfectly happy for the rest of my life. We end up having to buy a new suitcase and garment bag for everything. Even then, Eric will need to bring up another shipment, the next time he visits. If he ever wants to visit me again, that is.

Four pairs of eyes pop, when we get home. Thank god, we took the BMW. I hand Eric and Alcide their cards with the receipts for each. Alcide smiles and nods at what I bought. Eric squirms a little in his seat, which Sam notices.

"What's wrong Northman? Did she clean you out before the truck payment?" He jokes and looks over his shoulder._ 'Serves you right if she did, you were an ass last night. I brushed them all off, saying I had a girlfriend, but you didn't. You were flirting right back.'_ "Oh my God!" He pats Eric on the back. "You lucky dawg!" Everyone laughs at their faces, other than me.

"I hope I didn't spend too much on either of yours." Eric gets up and whispers in my ear. "I'm fine as long as I am the only one who sees you in this stuff." '_I better be.'_ I smirk at him and raise my eyebrow. "No one is going to see any of this until they can prove to me that I am the only one for them."

It is my turn to strike, when we lock the door that night. It had been boiling up inside me all day, but I could not vent around Pam and Fredya. I walk to the window, looking out over the ranch. He walks up to me and folds me into his arms. That is when he feels the tension coursing through me. "What's wrong?" He asks as innocent as he can. I break away from him and turn to confront him once I got some space between us.

"So how long do I have to wait for the hammer to fall? Now? No, let me guess, when I get home, I'll get a Dear Jane letter huh? All those words that fell from you lips were just lies? You forgot two very important parts about me, Eric. I have trouble trusting people, especially men. With my history; why wouldn't I. The other is that I can read minds. No one needs to tell me things, I don't try to pry into other's heads, but with exaggerated emotions and contact, it fires through anyway. I heard Sam's thoughts about what happened when I went to the ladies room. With me chasing away Sophie and Debbie, you can move on huh? I never had a doubt about your love and devotion to me, until I actually went out with you last night. I even gave you the benefit of the doubt with Debbie because she was younger than us and she actually admitted that it was all on her side. Even Sophie thought of how you never showed any interest in her. At that, she was still possessive of you. From what I got from Sam, you never even tried to chase her away, or ignore her. When I came back in, you and Alcide were flirting with those girls. I refuse to continue to fight for a relationship if you will not." I start packing my bags and walk down to the guest room. "I don't want to let your parents know that we are having problems, but I don't feel right staying in there while we work things out, if that is what you even want." I tell him as he follows me into the room. I still have almost a week to go.

Eric walks up to me and pulls me into his arms again. "My turn. I am sorry that I even brought you there. I only meant to relax with you and our friends. It was a disaster. You are on the verge of leaving me, your strong as iron trust in me has been shot full on holes and you've been a crying mess since. If I had gone up and danced with you right off, none of that would have happened." Eric hits his knees. "Please Sookie, don't break up with me. Give me a chance to make it up to you. I meant every word I said to you last night. You are the only one for me. I want to marry you, I have wanted to since you said yes to dating me. You made me the luckiest man in the world when you agreed to that, and I went and flubbed it up with ripping into you about the gifts, brushing you off in the stables. Then after you accepted my apology, I went and was a complete ass to you last night.

Come back to our room, I can't bare thinking that you are sleeping in this house, but not in my arms. I am so sorry that you were hurt by me. I never want to hurt you." He is crying into my legs as I stand there watching him with a raised eyebrow. "I am a guest, Eric. I should be in the guest room. I would not dare to kick you out of your own bed, I told you that the first night."

"No, it's not my bed. It's been **our** bed since that night. You are not our guest. You are my future wife. That is how I see you. Unless you never want to be with me again." He still has tears pouring down his face. I nod and agree to come back into his room. I sit on the sofa and watch him pace in front of me.

"I will not break up with you. You have done nothing wrong to me. I was the one that wronged you. All I can ask is for not to give up on me. I have never once cheated or even thought about cheating on you. I know it looked bad and I made some mistakes in regards to how I should have handled things, but will never cheat on you. You mean way too much to me, to even think about that."

Eric kneels in front of me. "I want to take you on one more date, before you go. I want you to be able to trust me again. I still plan to ask for your hand, but not until we fix this." He all but vows to me.

Pam and Sam leave the day before I do. We say our goodbyes and Pam makes me promise to give her a weekly update. There goes my cell bill.

Eric takes me out to dinner once more that night and we spend some time walking down the riverfront. I don't want to leave but he promises to come up for the Valentine's dance. It's on a Friday this year. He drives me to the airport and kisses me goodbye. "I will miss you. I love you. Call me when you get home, I want to make sure you are safe." I board the plane. My grandfather is there in Portland to pick me up.

"Did you have a good time?" I nod. "That guy is the one, I can tell. Finish school, then it's your life. Just don't make your mother's mistake. Get married first." We drive home and I return my friend's calls. Claudine and Jess hooped and hollered over everything. I call Eric; we talk for a while and wish each other goodnight.

The next day, I get up two hours early and start doing my hair and make-up. I put on some skinny jeans and a winter blue twin set. I pull on my 4 inch heeled boots and spritz on my home cologne. I pull my hearts around my neck and close the clasp on my Pandora. I slip in some earrings and grab my bag. Ten minutes later I pull up to the school. Now or never. I walk in and head past the jerks to get my new schedule.

"Hey, Sookie. What's your first class? You smell really good." I laugh as I stride right by Hoyt. I put my sunglasses on my head, and continue to the window.

"Looks like an English class." I look at the paper in his hand, "Look at that, we are in the same class." I trace from his neck to his chin. "Crazy Girl" starts coming out of my pocket. I answer it. _'Man, if only I could make you realize that I would be a good boyfriend.'_ Hoyt face flushes

"Hey, Baby! I miss you. Yeah, I'm at school. Just talking to a classmate. I'm going to have to shut this off until lunch, how about I call ya then? Say hi to Alcide. Oh and Debbie, Sophie and her sister. Bye honey. Love you too. Bye." I look at the phone for a bit then shut it off.

"Now where was I? Oh yeah, I was going to see my friends, bye Hoyt." I caress his face and strut away, just as his girlfriend walks up. "I had fun talking to you." I wink and turn toward the band hallway. He has a dreamy look on his face. _'She is warming up to me. I just need to wait. Sookie, I want you to be my girl.'_

My friends get into the idea and they love my clothes.

One month later, I have all of the worst guys under my spell. Who knew I had a body under those sweatshirts, and baggy jeans. Eric calls every night, even if he is on the road. It took a lot of work but he and I have mended our relationship and are going strong again, so we make more concrete plans for Valentine's. He and Alcide are flying up and are going to the dance with me. I think Alcide is lonely, but he won't admit it. They will stay at my house; there is no standing on ceremony when I have spent two weeks with them. They will leave Sunday, midafternoon.


End file.
